Nicole and Sam are back after a week off where everyone was travelling. Robbie is still in Japan so Nicole shares here adventure driving in the Mille Miglia warm-up where she and co-pilot Eilleen Falkenburg-Hull came in second overall in the modern vehicle class and first among novices. Upon returning home, Nicole got to spend quality time with the new Nissan Z. Meanwhile, between trips, Sam got to drive the Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn. Sam and Nicole also share their impressions of the new 2023 Toyota Crown.

In the news, BMW announced a $1.7B investment in its Spartanburg SC factory to build EVs, GMC revealed the Sierra Denali EV Edition1 and Ford brought us the refreshed 2023 Escape. Ford and VW are pulling the plug on Argo AI, the company that was developing automated vehicles for them, and Ubers with human drivers will make fewer left turns in the future. Finally, Sam got to chat with Stephan Winkelmann, the CEO of Lamborghini about the where the iconic Italian brand is going in the age of electrification.

Links

How Autumn Weather Contributes to Your Car’s Downfall

BMW EV Investment

GMC Sierra EV Denali

2023 Ford Escape

2023 Toyota Crown

Argo AI closing up shop

No left turns for Uber

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This week Robbie takes his turn in the Ford Bronco Raptor while Sam has the Expedition Timberline. Nicole drives the Honda HR-V up to Vermont to drive the Land Rover Defender Trophy Edition. In the news Honda announces a big investment in electrification in Ohio and that its joint venture with Sony will produce new… Read More »Sony Software In Your Car?

This week Robbie takes his turn in the Ford Bronco Raptor while Sam has the Expedition Timberline. Nicole drives the Honda HR-V up to Vermont to drive the Land Rover Defender Trophy Edition.

In the news Honda announces a big investment in electrification in Ohio and that its joint venture with Sony will produce new EVs from 2026. Toyota has moved from Amazon to Google Cloud AI to power its voice services and Polestar has revealed the 3 crossover in full. We also answer listener questions.

Links

Sony Vision S-02

Honda-Sony EV coming in 2026

Electrify America Update

Toyota drops Amazon for Google

Polestar 3

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This week Sam learns the limits of "all-terrain" tires as he goes off-roading with the Ford Bronco Raptor. Nicole shares first impressions of Nissan's new Ariya electric crossover and Robbie tests the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV.

Nicole and Sam both got to try out the Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L with Stellantis' new Hurricane twin-turbo inline-six cylinder engine. They also had a conversation with Jeep North America boss Jim Morrison. Chevrolet is launching a second generation Trax entry-level crossover that is both larger and cheaper than before. Motional has a 10-year deal to operate its robotaxis on the Uber network in multiple markets and the TFL Trucks Hummer has been fixed.

Links

2024 Chevrolet Trax

TFL Trucks Hummer EV followup

Motional and Uber 10 year deal

Ford Bronco Raptor review

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This week Sam and Robbie are both driving BMW i4s, but different varieties. Sam had the base eDrive40 for a run to Chicago, while Robbie got an M50. Since the last recording session Nicole had both the Subaru BRZ and the Genesis GV60 Performance.

In the news, Ford has revealed a redesigned version of the big Super Duty pickups with lots of new and borrowed tech. Honda has provided a look at the upcoming Prologue electric crossover that will be built by GM. TFL Trucks has a failure with their new GMC Hummer and Volvo has started dropping information about the new EX90 electric replacement for the XC90.

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Links

2023 Ford Super Duty first look

Honda Prologue reveal

Hummer EV failure for TFL Truck

Volvo EX90 preview

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Nicole is travelling somewhere in the Earth’s biosphere so it’s just the boys this time around. Since this was recorded just a few days after the last episode, Robbie hasn’t driven anything but Sam shares his thoughts on the Hyundai Santa Cruz. In the news, Ferrari has unveiled its first four-door regular production model, the… Read More »A Taller Prancing Horse

This week Robbie is missing, but Nicole and Sam managed to record a live episode from a hotel room (sorry about the room echo) in Bozeman, Montana with special guest Jordan Golson. We're all here to drive the new Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L but we'll talk about those on an upcoming episode. Jordan and Nicole both got to drive the new Range Rover Sport in Spain a couple of weeks ago and share some thoughts on the plug-in hybrid with 50 miles of electric range. Sam got to spend a week with another plug-in hybrid SUV, the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4XE and got some really impressive fuel economy.

Nicole and Jordan came to Montana directly from Vietnam where they visited Vinfast and got to try out the new VF8 electric SUV they are launching here in the US soon. Lots of interesting thoughts on whether this one is fully baked just yet. We finish up with some listener questions including the one that got away.

Links

Vinfast USA

Jordan Golson

Jordan Golson on Youtube

Vinfast VF9 short

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Nicole is travelling somewhere in the Earth's biosphere so it's just the boys this time around. Since this was recorded just a few days after the last episode, Robbie hasn't driven anything but Sam shares his thoughts on the Hyundai Santa Cruz.

In the news, Ferrari has unveiled its first four-door regular production model, the Purosangue (don''t call it an SUV). Honda has significantly the raised the base price on the new CR-V and the final Chrysler 300 won't get a Hellcat. Tesla faces a class action lawsuit over unfullfilled promises about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. The VW ID Aero will replace the Arteon and the 2023 Lincoln Corsair gets a bigger grille. Finally, Sam has a conversation with Schaeffler Group CTO Jeff Hemphill about some of the technologies the supplier is developing to improve EV efficiency.

Links

Ferrari Purosangue

2023 Honda CR-V pricing jump

Tesla FSD lawsuit

Not enough hellcats for Chrysler 300C

VW ID Aero to replace Arteon by 2024

2023 Lincoln corsair

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Over the past week we've had an assortment of travel and gigs but we're back in the saddle with fresh material. Now that the embargo has lifted, Robbie can finally share his thoughts on driving the VW ID Buzz, while Nicole had the new Kia Sportage. Before heading out to San Francisco, Sam had the Volvo C40 Recharge and while in the Bay area he drove a Chevrolet Bolt EV.

In the news, we've seen a bunch of new upcoming products in the leadup to the return of the much diminished Detroit Auto Show. The week before the show, Jeep started to reveal its 2024 EVs including the all-new Recon and Wagoneer S. Chevrolet also took the wraps off the Equinox EV. The big only big reveal at the show itself was the reworked 2024 Ford Mustang that's coming next summer. The king of designing devices with fewer buttons, Jonny Ive said that cars should have more buttons and less touch. Ram is ending production of the diesel version of the 1500 pickup so order yours now. While in San Francisco, Sam and Robbie both got to tour Cruise headquarters and ride in actual self-driving robotaxis.

Links

2024 Ford Mustang

Jeep Recon and Wagoneer S EVs

Chevrolet Equinox EV

Jonny Ive wants more buttons in cars

No more Ram 1500 diesel

Cruise

VW ID Buzz first drive

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As summer winds down, we’ve got lots of cool stuff that we’ve been driving this week. Nicole had the plug-in hybrid version of the Hyundai Tucson Limited with all-wheel-drive. Roberto has the Chevrolet Bolt EUV and Sam had the Toyota GR86 Premium and the Lucid Air Grand Touring. There are lots of EV related stories… Read More »Don’t Fake Fires